Lonely, Lost, and Unloved
by Kitsuneforlife
Summary: Kagome is twenty, and the jewel is finally complete. With Miroku and Sango dead because of Naraku, Kagome is shattered. Broken-hearted, she leaves, but needs protection from Spirit World... especially since Naraku's not dead. Kagome/?


**Lonely, Lost, and Unloved**

Hello! If you're confused, then don't be. I'm merely revising the chapters to this story, and also, I've changed the title by deleting a few words. I originally began this story when I was eleven, and it definitely showed in the writing. To be blunt, the story sucked, so I'm in the process of revising it. I have more to add to the plot, but it shouldn't really change the story in general. There will be some changes, though, so I would advise that you reread it. No worries about Kagome getting with a Yu Yu boy, though. It will still happen. I'm sorry about all of this, but I do hope that you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha nor Yu Yu Hakusho

**Chapter One**

Pain—that is what coursed through her body. It wasn't pain that a small cut or a fall down the stairs could bring, either. It was the pain of knowing that she'd lost two friends, and no matter what she did, she would never get them back. She would no longer be able to hear their voices, laugh with them, and fight alongside them. Sango and Miroku would be lost to Kagome forever.

The morning sun glared down upon her shaking frame as she sat against the well that linked her time to the feudal era. While in the midst of expressing her pain, she also tried to comfort the small kit who bawled into the crook of her neck. Considering that she didn't have the ability to speak at the moment, Kagome settled for lightly stroking Shippo's orange hair.

Clearly agitated, Inuyasha paced in front of the two, stopping every so often to glance in their direction. After some time, he kneeled in front of them with the intention of giving comfort. "Look, I know how you feel, but your crying isn't going to bring them back." Sadly, he failed miserably.

"How can you be so insensitive? My friends just died and you're telling me that I can't cry?" Kagome managed to sob out, clearly displeased with the half demon's choice of words.

Infuriated that Kagome would even suggest such a thing, Inuyasha snapped, "You know that I didn't mean it like that!"

Not in the mood for Inuyasha's behavior, Kagome yelled the first thing that came to mind—sit. Wiping at her wet face with the backs of her hands, she stood and began to gather her yellow bag. The last thing that she needed was Inuyasha making her feel worse than she already did.

After muttering a few obscenities into the dirt, Inuyasha leapt to his feet, careful of the pissed miko's attitude—he wouldn't hear that damned command again if he could help it. Cautiously, he approached the upset girl, intent on changing the subject and stopping her tears. Ever so gently, he rested his hands on her shoulders, calling her name.

Moments passed with her deliberately avoiding eye contact, and just as he was about to snap at her for her stubbornness, her chocolate brown irises navigated to meet his golden ones. He almost flinched at how horrible Kagome looked with her red, puffy eyes, but thought better of it. If he was going to get what he wanted, then he would have to play nice. "What are you going to do about the jewel?"

"You're unbelievable!" Kagome immediately retorted, slapping his hands away. How could he bring up something so trivial at a time like this? To hell with the jewel, her friends just died! What part of that didn't he understand?

"I know how you feel, believe me, but your moping around isn't going to get us anywhere! If you give the jewel to me, I can become a full demon and defeat Naraku, avenging both Sango and Miroku!" He matched his tone of voice with hers. At first he had thought that he had won this verbal war, but when Kagome balled her hands into fists, he began to get worried.

"You are so selfish! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" Kagome yelled in Inuyasha's face, watching with a slight satisfaction as he met the ground several times.

A growl emitted from the hole that Inuyasha was currently face first in, and no more than five seconds later, he was on his feet again. "Would you fucking stop doing that? Stop blowing everything out of proportion—you know that I didn't mean it like that! I'm trying to look out for you, or did you forget that you have the whole jewel, and Naraku will come looking for it? Either give me the damn jewel, or go back to your time and stay—it isn't safe for you here!"

"You just want me gone so that you can have Kikyo without any interruptions, right?" Kagome spat back—she was beyond the point of reasoning.

How dare she get in his face and say something like that when he was trying to protect her. Fuck trying to be nice, this was war. "What the hell? You know what… at least Kikyo didn't constantly accuse me of crimes that I didn't commit! I would rather be with her right now because you need to grow the hell up!"

All at once, what was left of Kagome's world shattered. "How could you say something like that?" Kagome's voice wavered, cracking with the added pain of heartbreak on top of the loss of her friends.

"Feh, it's the truth." Inuyasha crossed his arms nonchalantly and turned his back on the miko. After a few seconds, his silver ears twitched upon hearing about a dozen sit commands, and he plummeted into the earth once more.

Before giving Inuyasha time to retaliate, Kagome abruptly threw her yellow bag on her shoulders, making poor little Shippo lose his grasp and fall off onto the ground. Too upset to notice that she had lost the kit, Kagome yelled, "I'm leaving, and you better not think of coming for me!" Within seconds, she jumped down the well, ignoring Inuyasha's response to her threat.

After being engulfed in the familiar bluish-black light, Kagome found herself in the well house, signifying that she was back in her own time period. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths to calm herself. When she was certain that she could make it from the well to her room without crying, she wiped her cheeks clean and proceeded to climb out of the well.

The trek from the well house to the shrine was an uneventful one with Kagome successfully keeping her mind blank. Over and over, she told herself that she could last a few more moments. Lucky for her, it was early in the morning, so the rest of her family was still asleep. Silently, she made her way to her room, closing and locking the door behind her.

All at once, her emotions rushed her, replaying the loss of Sango and Miroku through her mind. She was powerless to save them, and every waking moment, the nightmare would play on her conscience.

A sob threatened to rip from her, causing her to put a hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't wake her family. She couldn't protect the ones that she loved, and she was paying the price with the endless tears that clouded her vision. Her knees gave out, and she crumbled to the floor with her face in her hands.

0-0

"Oh yeah, I win again!" Yusuke exclaimed, practically jumping to his feet with excitement. However, his few seconds of glory ended when he was tackled by a very angry Kuwabara.

"You cheated! There is no way that you could have beaten me three times in a row!" Kuwabara grabbed Yusuke by the collar, shaking him violently.

Keiko, not wanting to get involved in the soon-to-be fight, excused herself to the kitchen with the excuse of getting more drinks. Shizuru and Kurama followed suit, offering help. Hiei, who had been sitting on the windowsill, merely watched the scene with little interest, silently hoping that Yusuke would just kill Kuwabara and get it over with.

Thirty seconds of wrestling later, Botan appeared in the room, ready to give a cheery introduction. When she spotted the chaos before her, however, she paused, unsure of what to do. After cringing a few times off of the hits that the two males dealt each other, Botan yelled, "And that's the round!"

Yusuke stopped pummeling Kuwabara, glancing at Botan with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention back to the orange-haired male that he was holding by the collar. After dealing two more punches to the other male's face, Yusuke dropped Kuwabara on the ground and gave Botan his undivided attention. "I'm guessing that you didn't come all the way from Spirit World to keep me from beating Kuwabara's ass. And before you say that you have a case for me, I should remind you that I got fired from that job a long time ago."

Despite Yusuke's sour mood, Botan retained her cheerful demeanor. "Well, a case _has_ come up, and Koenma doesn't plan on hiring another detective."

"Not interested." Yusuke waved a dismissive hand. "Try coming back in about ten years." He started toward the kitchen, stopping when Botan's voice interrupted him.

"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice in the matter," Botan provided, remembering how adamant Koenma had been about retrieving Yusuke.

"Let me guess, there is a rogue demon ignoring the treaty?" Yusuke asked in reference to the demon world law that stated that demons weren't allowed to attack humans since the barrier between worlds had been brought down.

"Well, not exactly."

"Then why the hell does toddler breath want me?" To say that Yusuke wasn't happy would be an understatement. If Koenma thought that he would interfere with his current need to be lazy with something other than fighting, then he had another thing coming.

"Yusuke, must you really yell so loud?" Keiko reprimanded her boyfriend as she emerged from the kitchen with some canned pops in her hands. Upon spotting the spirit world messenger, a worried expression made its way onto her face. If Botan was here, then more than likely something was wrong. It wasn't too often that the grim reaper was relieved from her tasks to join them for a casual hang out nowadays. "Oh, Botan, I didn't know that you were here."

"Well, hello to you, too." Botan donned a genuine smile at the girl. However, she didn't have time for catching up on lost time. "Sorry, I'd love to stay and chat, but I can't." She offered an apologetic smile.

Immediately, Keiko turned solemn. Her previous thoughts were confirmed—Botan was sent for the guys. "Did something happen with the demon world?" She ignored the fact that Kurama and Shizuru had reemerged from the kitchen and was listening intensely.

"Honestly, I don't know." Botan shrugged. "Koenma wouldn't tell me. All he said was to round up Yusuke and the others."

"Does anyone not care about the fact that I said no?" Yusuke was quick to add his thoughts.

"Urameshi, it wouldn't hurt you to find out what's going on." Kuwabara stood from the ground, reminding everyone that he had been present the whole conversation.

"I agree with Kuwabara. Koenma wouldn't send for us if it wasn't urgent. Perhaps it would be in our best interest—you never know what could have possibly happened." Kurama added, looking expectantly to the brown-eyed male. When he saw that he had gotten his point across, he looked to the fire demon in the window, inquiring that he too should come.

Knowing that the fox was expecting him to come, Hiei averted his gaze out the window, silently telling him that he was not going to get caught up in Koenma's missions again. He had served the time for his crime, and he would be damned if he _volunteered_ for such a tedious task.

"Hiei," Kurama called, causing all but Kuwabara to turn their attention to the short demon. When all he received in response was the tensing of the jagan holder's body and a telepathic threat, he sighed. Responding with telepathy, he promised his friend sweet snow, earning him a crimson glare. He knew that it was a low blow to play on Hiei's weakness, but one could only wonder what was so important to summon all four of them after not hearing from the spirit world prince for some years, at least not in the professional sense.

When Botan received a nod from the red-head confirming that they were ready, she opened a portal. She was thankful for the help—it would have taken her a long time to convince Yusuke and Hiei. Stepping back, she allowed the four males to go into the portal first, ignoring the muttered foul language that escaped from Yusuke's mouth.

0-0

"You better not have called me here to tell me about your diaper rash." Yusuke glared at the child like ruler behind the desk in front of him.

"This is serious, Yusuke, all jokes aside." Koenma shifted an abnormally high stack of papers away from him, looking up at the four males and Botan.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Yusuke prompted impatiently. Seriously, he could still be playing video games at his apartment.

"You to stop talking," Hiei answered, earning a glare from the taller male.

Koenma sighed. You would think that after two years that the group would have matured some. Apparently, he was wrong. Clearing his throat, he dispelled any tension that was rising between the males, gaining their attention. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, I need you four to locate and protect a girl who lives in your city."

Hiei scowled. "You called us here for babysitting?"

"Yes and no. This girl—correction miko—is the protector of the Shikon no Tama." Koenma paused, seeing recognition flash through Kurama's eyes, and he knew that he had gained the attention of the demon that shared Kurama's soul. "Spirit world has turned a blind eye to her situation for five years, but the jewel that she carries is now complete. The three worlds could be destroyed if that jewel falls into the wrong hands."

'_That's impossible,_' Yoko mused inside of Kurama's head. _'The jewel disappeared five hundred years ago.'_

Kurama's brows furrowed at the knowledge that he picked up from his fox spirit. Yes, he had heard of the jewel before, but he didn't know if it was still around or not. "I don't understand. Didn't the Shikon no Tama disappear five hundred years ago?"

"That is true, but the jewel was brought back into existence with Higurashi Kagome's birth. Five hundred years ago, the protector of the jewel had it burned with her body after her death, and that woman, along with the jewel, was reincarnated."

"This is why I failed history," Kuwabara informed the group, unable to follow anything that the prince was saying.

"Okay, all that I got out of that conversation was that there is a dangerous jewel. Why don't we just take the jewel from the girl and call it a job done?" Yusuke added.

"It isn't that easy, Yusuke. If we were to do something like that, then we would mess up history."

"I'm lost," Yusuke admitted as he racked his brain for any potential answers.

"Higurashi Kagome can travel five hundred years into the past because of the Shikon no Tama. The jewel is not meant to be in this world and must be properly disposed of in the past. If we were to change the course of events that has already occurred in the past, then we would negatively alter the future."

"If we can't do anything about the jewel, then why did you call us here? You're not making any sense!" Yusuke ran frustrated hands through his hair.

"I think what he means to say is that we must protect this girl from the present threats so that she may follow through with the events that are supposed to happen five hundred years in the past," Kurama provided, earning a questionable look from the former detective.

"Uh, yeah, whatever you said," Yusuke stated, still confused.

"We basically just have to protect this girl in the present time," Kurama simplified.

"Yes, but I would prefer if you didn't reveal your true intentions to her until given further instructions," Koenma instructed.

"Whatever, toddler breath," Yusuke said, causing Koenma to glower at him. "Can we at least get a picture of this girl so we will know who we're looking for?"

At Yusuke's request, Koenma brought up a picture of a young woman no older than twenty on his screen. Her blue-black hair hung past her shoulders in a thick mane, and the large chocolate eyes peering into the room from below her bangs held warmth in them.

"Well, hello." Yusuke smirked as he admired the picture. A fist collided with the back of his head soon after his statement, causing him to let out a few vile words and turn to his orange-haired friend. "What the hell, Kuwabara?"

"You two-timer, what about Keiko?" Kuwabara growled out, not appreciating the way that Yusuke looked at the picture.

Ignoring the argument between the younger males, Kurama took in the photo before him, quirking an eyebrow. To say that is was a small world was an understatement. He had encountered this girl on more than one occasion. In fact, his school played sports against hers plenty of times in middle school. If he remembered correctly, she was on the volleyball team, but that had to have been when she was fourteen or fifteen.

Noticing the way that Kurama looked at the picture with an inquisitive gaze, Hiei spared it a glance and frowned. She was just another weak human that was clearly unworthy of his time. The red-head owed him big time.

"I believe that I can trust you all with this mission?" Koenma intercepted.

"You can count on me, Kuwabara Kazuma!" Kuwabara yelled.

"You mean an idiot?" Yusuke snickered.

"Shut it, Urameshi!"

Massaging his temples, Koenma could feel a headache coming on. His employees were truly nuisances. "Now if you all are done, you are dismissed." Koenma took the picture off of the screen and was already turning his attention back to the stacks of paperwork that he had left.

'_This does not bode well,' _Yoko said after a prolonged silence, obtaining Kurama's attention.

"_Elaborate,"_ Kurama encouraged, curious as to why the fox would say such a thing about Kagome. Surely she couldn't prove to be that much of a problem, could she?

'_It's nothing,' _Yoko lied, negating his last comment.

Kurama's brows furrowed, but he didn't pester the fox demon about it. When Yoko said that something didn't bode well, then usually it didn't. What had he gotten himself into?

**Chapter End**

Well, I hope that you enjoyed chapter one. As you can see, the writing is one thousand times better. The other revised chapters will be up soon and updates can come as quick as every week or every day—it depends on the reviews that I receive. If you don't know by now, I will not update a story that I feel that my readers don't like because it is a waste of my time. The rate of which updates are posted is entirely up to you.

Yes, I have the story planned out. No, I do not know who Kagome is going to be paired with just yet. I'm just going to let my crazy imagination come up with the answer along with the help of you all, of course.

Well, I await your reviews earnestly.

Also, if you want to read a good Hiei/Kagome pairing, then you can check out my cousin's fanfic. It is Beautiful Nightmare by Yokuraromaru.


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